Deal could be worth up to $10 billion, divest company of onetime Autonomy business

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.

By

DonClark

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. is seeking a buyer for its software unit in a deal that could be valued at as much as $10 billion, a person familiar with the situation said, the latest in a series of moves by the big-name technology vendor to narrow its focus.

Such a transaction would, among other things, likely end the company’s association with the former operations of Autonomy Corp., a British software maker acquired in 2011 for $11 billion in a deal widely regarded as a mistake.

HP Enterprise
HPE, -0.53%
is seeking a price in the range of $8 billion and $10 billion for the software unit, the person familiar with the matter said. Reuters earlier reported deal talks at those values with buyout firms that include Thoma Bravo LLC. A spokesman for Thoma Bravo declined to comment.

The unit being offered for sale makes software to manage business operations, this person said. The company plans to keep software businesses associated with pieces of customers’ key technology infrastructure — such as software-defined networking.

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